Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: Being chinese in heritage, it was great to be able to view such use of the building in Beijing. It was also amazing to be able to see such beautiful works performed by such an excellent cast and orchestra. Kris Phillips was awesome, and he had such presence on the stage.
Rating: 
Summary: masterpiece
Review: Disappointed with the lack of quality in general. Was expecting an excellent show, sound quality and image - decent is how i would rate it but thats all.
Rating: 
Summary: Have any 5-star raters seen THIS version??
Review: I don't know what was going on. I thought this show was ridiculous, it looked (and supposedly was) sort of rushed and put together overnight. I've seen shows that have been rushed and put together overnight by high school students that were better than this. Other than Kris Phillips and Elaine Paige, the singers were truly mediocre and many sounded completely amateur. Maybe they are really dancers. I hope so for their sake.I guess that's what they could get for a performance in Beijing. Hopefully, but sadly, they couldn't do any better. But, we're talking about $$money$$ here folks, and trust me, you'd much rather spend your money on the Royal Albert Hall Celebration. You'll be glad you did it.
Rating:
Summary: A spirited performance
Review: I have seen both this DVD and the Royal Albert Hall concert DVD. Its true the singers in the Albert Hall performance are more famous and accomplished but the stars in this one is more energetic and spirited. I think Tony Vincent and Chris Philips both gave performances that are passionate and fresh. After watching the behind-the-scene documentary of this production (a very interesting piece by itself), I have a much greater appreciation of this endeavour. After all, this is the first time ALW's music is introduced to China. Although its not perfect, I will give this DVD a big thumbs up for its trail blazing effort.
Rating:
Summary: Kris Phillips Shone!
Review: Kris Phillips took passion into his roles, showing a nice bit of acting to create a splash of interest. His duet in the Phantom of the Opera is truly worth seeing; both performers gave it their best and it really showed. It's worth purchasing for a quiet evening spent enjoying the musical arts.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: The Chinese Philharmonic was fantastic with ALW's music. The "extras" on the DVD make you appreciate how the show was put together in a matter of days by overcoming numerous obstacles by an extremely competent staff.
Rating: 
Summary: Liked it a lot at the beginning
Review: The first time I watched the DVD, it was truly amazing. I really enjoyed watching all the numbers. There were tracks that I hadn't seen anywhere else (eg. Masquarade from Phantom); The other ALW classics were all very captivating and stirring. I was going to watch it over and over again. A funny thing though - the more I watched, the less I liked it. Being recorded live, there were lots of things that went wrong... missed notes, croaking voices, those awful costumes, etc. These mistakes actually started to annoy me. I also have Les Miserables and the ALW concert in Britain - and those performances were flawless. My advice - if you're going to buy this DVD, sit back and simply enjoy the performance... it really is very well done if you want to be entertained. But if you're a critic and looking for perfection - you'll probably tire of the show after watching 2 or 3 times.
Rating:
Summary: Liked it a lot at the beginning
Review: The first time I watched the DVD, it was truly amazing. I really enjoyed watching all the numbers. There were tracks that I hadn't seen anywhere else (eg. Masquarade from Phantom); The other ALW classics were all very captivating and stirring. I was going to watch it over and over again. A funny thing though - the more I watched, the less I liked it. Being recorded live, there were lots of things that went wrong... missed notes, croaking voices, those awful costumes, etc. These mistakes actually started to annoy me. I also have Les Miserables and the ALW concert in Britain - and those performances were flawless. My advice - if you're going to buy this DVD, sit back and simply enjoy the performance... it really is very well done if you want to be entertained. But if you're a critic and looking for perfection - you'll probably tire of the show after watching 2 or 3 times.
Rating:
Summary: WOOWW!!!
Review: The first time I watched this show on PBS, I thought to myself, "This is alright." Alright, yes; meaning that it could have been better. Don't get me wrong: the entire concert is well concieved and all. But I feel the thing as kind of a "rush rush" job just to put more cash in ALW's already hefty pockets and nothing else. Unlike most other Broadway programs, which seem to contain and evoke more passion. Nevertheless, MASTERPIECE does contain some awesome highlights; and by this regard, is at least worth a look. Elaine Page is, as always, very good here; her voice just seems to shine. Kris Phillips, on the other hand, while an alright singer, didn't impress me at all in this show. Music of the Night, for example: he literally seems to strain and tense up through the entire song; exhibiting neither emotion nor depth. He has a good voice. It's just obvious here that Broadway is not his forte. It is up to you to buy Masterpiece or not. For me, it's not worth it; there is so much better stuff out there: Hey! Mr. Producer, the Lloyd Webber 50th birthday show, Michael Ball at Royal Albert Hall, the Les Mis concert, etc. Perhaps I have higher standards than some when it comes to musical theater. But to me, MASTERPIECE isn't that great of a concert.
Rating: 
Summary: Alright ... Not One of the Best ... Could Have Been Better
Review: The first time I watched this show on PBS, I thought to myself, "This is alright." Alright, yes; meaning that it could have been better. Don't get me wrong: the entire concert is well concieved and all. But I feel the thing as kind of a "rush rush" job just to put more cash in ALW's already hefty pockets and nothing else. Unlike most other Broadway programs, which seem to contain and evoke more passion. Nevertheless, MASTERPIECE does contain some awesome highlights; and by this regard, is at least worth a look. Elaine Page is, as always, very good here; her voice just seems to shine. Kris Phillips, on the other hand, while an alright singer, didn't impress me at all in this show. Music of the Night, for example: he literally seems to strain and tense up through the entire song; exhibiting neither emotion nor depth. He has a good voice. It's just obvious here that Broadway is not his forte. It is up to you to buy Masterpiece or not. For me, it's not worth it; there is so much better stuff out there: Hey! Mr. Producer, the Lloyd Webber 50th birthday show, Michael Ball at Royal Albert Hall, the Les Mis concert, etc. I don't know; perhaps I have higher standards than some when it comes to musical theater. But to me, MASTERPIECE isn't that great of a concert.
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